Military of Rhûn (The Lord of the Rings)
The Eastlands of Rhûn (The Lord of the Rings) is feared and dreaded for superbly effective fighting forces, nearly spelling the doom of Gondor (The Lord of the Rings) and almost heralding Sauron (The Lord of the Rings)'s complete victory over the entirety of Middle-earth (The Lord of the Rings). Rhûn's main Easterling army of 1,000,000 Easterlings are one of the largest armies ever gathered in the Middle-earth, and the largest army in the north-eastern parts of Middle-earth. Today, additional 60,000 Easterlings of Rhûn have marsched to The Black Gate (The Lord of the Rings) of Mordor (The Lord of the Rings) in the south, there 100,000 Easterlings already are stationed. History Easterlings of the First Age During the First Age (The Lord of the Rings), the term was applied to the sons of Bor (The Lord of the Rings) and Ulfang (The Lord of the Rings), or the Swarthy Men, who came into Beleriand (The Lord of the Rings) much later than the Edain ((The Lord of the Rings), and who were for a part secretly in league with Morgoth (The Lord of the Rings). Sons of Bor Bor was a leader of Men who came into Lothlann (The Lord of the Rings), in Beleriand, during the FA 463 (The Lord of the Rings). His sons were Borlach (The Lord of the Rings), Borlad (The Lord of the Rings), and Borthand (The Lord of the Rings). Bor was welcomed by Maedhros (The Lord of the Rings), who gave him and his followers land north and south of the March of Maedhros (The Lord of the Rings). Bor and his sons swore allegiance to Maedhros, and remained faithful, though he was told by Morgoth (The Lord of the Rings)) to betray the banner of Caranthir (The Lord of the Rings). All of them were wiped out during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (The Lord of the Rings) (Battle of Unnumbered Tears). Sons of Ulfang "the Black" Ulfang also came in Lothlann, Beleriand, in 463, shortly after Bor. He was the father of Ulfast (The Lord of the Rings), Ulwarth (The Lord of the Rings), and Uldor (The Lord of the Rings) "the Accursed". Ulfang was welcomed by the sons of Fëanor (The Lord of the Rings), and he and his sons swore allegiance to Caranthir. They were given lands to dwell in the north and south of the March of Maedhros. Ulfang and his sons were secretly in the employ of Morgoth, and betrayed the Eldar (The Lord of the Rings) and Edain during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in what is now known as the Treachery of Men. Rule in Hithlum After Nirnaeth Arnoediad (The Lord of the Rings) at the bidding of Morgoth, the Easterlings invaded Hithlum (The Lord of the Rings). They spread throughout the wide lands plundering, destroying, and killing its inhabitants. The Eldar (The Lord of the Rings) of Hithlum were able to escape from the invaders by taking refuge in the southern mountains that later the Easterlings avoided out of fear of the elves (The Lord of the Rings). The Easterlings soon withdrew northwards and apparently settled. However, the Easterlings were betrayed by their lord Morgoth, and locked solely in Hithlum (The Lord of the Rings) and denied the rich lands of the Beleriand that they so desired. Here the Easterlings governed with cruelty, robbing, stealing, and enslaving the remaining Men of Hithlum (The Lord of the Rings), who called the Easterlings the " Incomers". They took away the young and the able bodied and sometimes young women to be wives; the most widely known being Aerin (The Lord of the Rings) of whom Brodda (The Lord of the Rings) took to produce his heir. Despite these evil deeds, they did not take Morwen (The Lord of the Rings) nor her house from her for they feared her and believed her to be a witch and so her son, Túrin Turambar (The Lord of the Rings) had time to escape to Doriath (The Lord of the Rings). Tuor Turambar (The Lord of the Rings), the cousin of Túrin was also enslaved in Hithlum by the Easterlings but he was able to escape and evaded them by living as an outlaw, until he was contacted by the Vala (The Lord of the Rings) Ulmo (The Lord of the Rings) and went to Gondolin (The Lord of the Rings). The Easterlings ruled effectively in Hithlum as vassals of Morgoth from FA 473 (The Lord of the Rings) to FA 583 (The Lord of the Rings). After the War of Wrath (The Lord of the Rings), those that survived fled back over the Blue Mountains (The Lord of the Rings) (Ered Luin) to Eriador (The Lord of the Rings) and beyond. Easterlings of the Third and Fourth Ages During the Third Age (The Lord of the Rings), the term was applied to those Men living beyond the Sea of Rhûn (The Lord of the Rings), who were usually allied with Sauron (The Lord of the Rings) (for their leader was the second greatest of the Nazgûl, Khamûl (The Lord of the Rings)) and frequently attacked Gondor (The Lord of the Rings) at Khamûl's master (Sauron's) biddings. However, Sauron's defeat at the end of the War of the Last Alliance (The Lord of the Rings) diminished his presence for over one thousand years, and any territorial ambition was left to them alone. In TA 490 (The Lord of the Rings) an Easterling army of 100,000 Easterlings invaded Gondor, passing through Dagorlad (The Lord of the Rings) and starting a series of wars that lasted sixty years until they were finally defeated in TA 550 (The Lord of the Rings) by Turambar (The Lord of the Rings), the ninth King of Gondor (The Lord of the Rings). Afterwards, Gondor subdued them and took from them a large area of land between the Kingdom of Rhovanion (The Lord of the Rings) and Mordor (The Lord of the Rings) including the Sea of Rhûn (The Lord of the Rings). Gondor held on to these territories for a few hundred years but slowly began to lose them over time, and the Easterlings once again initiated warfare. In TA 1248 (The Lord of the Rings) they once again clashed with Gondor in a series of skirmishes but were still not powerful or organized enough to stand against Gondor’s power. Though defeated the Easterlings would not have to wait long, for Gondor soon fell into decline and civil war, Kin-strife (The Lord of the Rings). Afterwards, the Easterling tribes remained peaceful for the most part until the mid-nineteenth century when they were again powerful enough to attack the west. Wainriders The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterling and Southron (The Lord of the Rings) tribes who were united by their hate of Gondor (The Lord of the Rings), fueled by the dark lord Sauron (The Lord of the Rings). Following the Great Plague (The Lord of the Rings) which weakened Gondor, they started their attacks in TA 1856 (The Lord of the Rings), defeating the Gondorian army and killing King Narmacil II (The Lord of the Rings). They rode in great chariots (which gave them their name), and raided the lands of Rhovanion (The Lord of the Rings), destroying or enslaving its people. Gondor gradually lost all of its possessions east of Anduin (The Lord of the Rings) to them. The thirtieth king of Gondor, Calimehtar (The Lord of the Rings) son of Narmacil (The Lord of the Rings), defeated the Wainriders at the Field of Celebrant (The Lord of the Rings), buying some rest for his land. However the Wainriders struck back in TA 1944 (The Lord of the Rings), allying themselves with the Haradrim (The Lord of the Rings) of Near Harad and the Variags (The Lord of the Rings) of Khand. They managed to kill king Ondoher (The Lord of the Rings) and all his heirs, but instead of riding on to Minas Anor (The Lord of the Rings) and taking the city, they paused to celebrate. Meanwhile, general Eärnil (The Lord of the Rings) of Gondor's southern army rode north to defend his king, but he came too late to rescue Ondoher, but he did manage to annihilate the Wainriders. Eärnil was crowned king. After this defeat the might of the Wainriders was broken, and they retreated east. They still held Rhovanion (The Lord of the Rings), but never troubled Gondor again until the War of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings). Balchoth The Balchoth (The Lord of the Rings) were a fierce race of Easterlings, who attacked Gondor while under orders of Dol Guldur (The Lord of the Rings). In 2510 they overran the plains of Calenardhon (The Lord of the Rings) and almost destroyed the army of the Ruling Steward Cirion (The Lord of the Rings), but were defeated by the Éothéod (The Lord of the Rings) under Eorl the Young. Like the Wainriders they rode in chariots and wagons, and they may have been descendants of these people. The War of the Ring During the War of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings) at end of the Third Age (The Lord of the Rings), the Easterlings joined with the forces of Mordor participating in the Northern battles that nearly defeated the Elves of Mirkwood, the Men of Dale (The Lord of the Rings), and the Dwarves (The Lord of the Rings) of the Lonely Mountain (The Lord of the Rings) (Erebor). On March 17 TA 3019 (The Lord of the Rings), 200,000 Easterlings of Rhûn attacked the city state of Dale (The Lord of the Rings) and the Dwarven fortress of the Lonely Mountain (The Lord of the Rings) (Erebor) in north-eastern Rhovanion (The Lord of the Rings), resulting in the Battle of Dale (The Lord of the Rings), the greatest battle in the north. King Brand (The Lord of the Rings) of Dale and King Dáin II Ironfoot (The Lord of the Rings) of Erebor led an combined army of 50,000 Dwarves and Men of Dale (The Lord of the Rings) to defend Dale and Erebor. It was the bloodiest battle in the north, with nearby 130,000 casualties. Despite being on the losing side in the War of the Ring, the Easterlings still continued to remain a threat throughout the early Fourth Age (The Lord of the Rings) but were finally subdued in a series of campaigns led by Elessar (The Lord of the Rings). With some of their lands annexed to the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor (The Lord of the Rings), it is presumed that there were no more major invasions to threaten the peace. It is not known whether these men mixed with their former enemies and learned to live in peace or were simply subjugated tributaries. Rhûn has today an Easterling army of 1,000,000 Easterlings, far more than those who fought in the battle of Dale. Variags The Variags (in our time, this is another name for the Varangians) were from Khand (The Lord of the Rings), and they first appeared in the West in 1944 of the Third Age (The Lord of the Rings), fighting alongside the Wainriders. They later appeared during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (The Lord of the Rings). Tolkien wrote little to nothing about the Variags and Khand; what information we have about them is speculative. Weapons Uniforms, shields, and future Non-Canonical military units Category:Easterlings (The Lord of the Rings)